A Bed-Stuy Rental, Dishwasher Included

Christine Amorose and David Merrill both lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, sharing apartments with friends.

Together, Ms. Amorose and her roommate paid $3,150 a month for their two-bedroom on Skillman Avenue. The building was old, her bedroom small and the landlord unresponsive.

Mr. Merrill lived in a duplex on Grand Street. He and his two roommates paid a combined monthly rent of $3,900. His bedroom was big enough for a sofa as well as a bed, but the building was run down. When things went wrong, the fix would make it worse. A leak repair would lead to a hole in the ceiling.

Last summer, after two years of dating, the couple decided to find a place of their own. “This was about the same time they announced the Apple Store and Whole Foods were coming to Williamsburg,” said Ms. Amorose, who is from the Sacramento area of California.

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CLINTON HILL A one-bedroom at the Clinton Hill Co-ops was a possibility. But renting in a co-op building can be complicated.CreditKenny Karpov for The New York Times

“I was ready to get out of Williamsburg. It was becoming much more of a touristy destination,” she said. “The thought of waiting an hour in line and fighting a crowd was no longer so appealing.”

They decided to hunt for a one-bedroom in a nice, new building in a less trendy Brooklyn neighborhood where their money would go farther. Their budget was $3,000 a month.

Ms. Amorose didn’t want to give up a dishwasher and a washer-dryer. Mr. Merrill, who grew up on the Upper West Side, wanted light and space without “all the frustrations of my previous place,” he said. “Christine said I wanted storage, but that’s her way of saying I have too many things.”

Both Ms. Amorose, 27, and Mr. Merrill, 33, commute to Manhattan. Ms. Amorose, who works in brand partnerships at Vimeo and also blogs at CestChristine.com, travels often for work and had neither the time nor the patience for prolonged apartment hunting.

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CLINTON HILL One of the prospective renters felt the Absolute, a new condo on Steuben Street in Clinton Hill, was too far from the train.CreditKenny Karpov for The New York Times

“We wanted to see as many as possible in a short time so we could make a quick decision,” Mr. Merrill said. He works for Imminent Digital, a video content marketing agency for nonprofits.

The couple visited a renovated apartment at the Clinton Hill Co-ops, built in the early 1940s. The corner apartment, for $2,700 a month, had a nice view and a space that could be used as an office.

Renting in a co-op seemed daunting, however, involving board permission and extra fees. The couple plan to adopt a dog, but doing so in a co-op might pose yet another hurdle. Besides, Mr. Merrill wanted to check out at least a few more options. “Let’s not take the first place we see,” he said. “That’s not the way you do it.”

One weekend day, they set up a schedule of open houses, riding their bicycles to each. Both liked a large one-bedroom for $2,750 a month at the Absolute, a 2009 condominium building on Steuben Street in Clinton Hill. The open house was filled with “more or less carbon copies of us,” Mr. Merrill said. “Everyone was very anxious and eager. We thought, this is going to get very competitive.”

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BED-STUY The layouts and spiral staircases did not please at the new Nostrand Lofts. Neither did the lack of dishwashers.CreditKenny Karpov for The New York Times

But the building seemed to her to be a long walk from the G train and “I didn’t want to be tied to the G train as my only option,” Ms. Amorose said.

Several places priced at around $3,000 a month were available at the Nostrand Lofts in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The building had opened in the early 1900s as the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy and had been recently converted to apartments.

Ms. Amorose found the layouts awkward. Some units had spiral staircases, which seemed burdensome. A dog would have a tough time going up and down, “and I wouldn’t like it, either,” she said.

When they asked about a dishwasher, the agent said the kitchens did not include them — after all, New Yorkers eat out. Ms. Amorose didn’t buy that. In otherwise functional kitchens, she said, “I think that is a poor design choice. I eat out plenty. When I am home, I still want to put the dishes in the dishwasher.”

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BED-STUY A place in a brand-new building appeared to have it all, including a dishwasher. And the building had bike storage.CreditKenny Karpov for The New York Times

Earlier in the summer, on a bike ride, Ms. Amorose had seen a “coming soon” sign on a rental building under construction on Franklin Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. “I tucked it away, like, maybe that will be coming by the time we are ready to move,” she said. Sure enough, it now appeared online.

At the building, the couple liked what they saw: a spacious one-bedroom with a kitchen that included a dishwasher. There was even a balcony and a bike storage room. The unit had no washer-dryer, but the building had a laundry room. The rent was $3,000 a month — the top of their budget, but worth it, they felt.

In the fall, the couple were among the first to arrive. Not everything was finished, and they faced loud construction on the floor above.

But the couple find the calm streets a refreshing change from their frenetic old neighborhood, though with fewer options for food, shopping and services. Mr. Merrill appreciates the nearby Y.M.C.A., where he is able to swim year-round.

His commute is not too bad: He switches from the G to the L train to reach his office in the Flatiron district. Ms. Amorose takes the C train to her office in far west Chelsea. For the last leg, she almost always avails herself of Citi Bike, which reduces a 20-minute walk to a five-minute bike ride.

“The neighborhood is more conducive to being an adult, so I am going out less,” Mr. Merrill said. “It has brought about a lifestyle shift. I am going to sleep earlier, I wake up earlier and we do more cooking at home.”

The dishwasher plays its part. “Use another plate!” Ms. Amorose urges her guests. And, when it’s just the two of them, there is never conflict over “who left the dishes in the sink,” she said. “You just turn the dishwasher on and we’re done.”